Change in cell stiffness is a characteristic of several hematological diseases. Examples of such diseases may involve red blood cells (e.g. malaria and sickle cell anemia), white blood cells (leukemia and leukostasis), and metastatic solid-organ tumor cells (circulating tumor cells and the more extreme carcinocythemia). Often, increases in blood cell stiffness lead to loss of the cells' ability to squeeze through capillaries, resulting in organ failure, coma, and ultimately death.